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How has it changed her character though? I don't find that to be true myself. Teela might be said to be overdoing the 'fiesty redhead', but she hasn't been shown to be sexualised in the comic. She did strip down to her underwear in one sequence, but I don't get the impression she's being sexualised there. It's just a weird sequence to me, there's no real shots that objectify her body there. The only place I see that is the cover to the DC/MOTU crossover. To me Teela has largely been herself and sexuality hasn't been touch upon with her character. I don't think there's anywhere near enough proof to claim to know what DC's and the artists intentions clearly are. It's a fantasy/sci-fi setting where something like that isn't necessarily innappropriate. I'm not saying it flat out isn't the case. I could be wrong, but I don't think we should just jump to conclusions.

Also we generally speaking all have female friends. I wouldn't begin guessing what all of them would react to seeing the comics. I don't think your friends should be held up as the gold standard for women as though that's what we all should be thinking. I mean if Wonder Woman can wear less and be applauded for it then I don't think Teela's outfit is the end of the world either.

I think the reaction to Teela's outfit is moreso a reaction to He-Man covering up. Teela's new costume is less skimpier than her Battleground Teela, so it's probably not the skin itself. Since He-Man isn't showing skin, Teela who normally wouldn't look out of place is now stereotypically not covered up. It's like taking the normally loincloth, furry boot wearing Conan and metal bikini wearing Red Sonja and dressing Conan from head to toe in armor, while Red Sonja is still dressed in her chainmail bikini.

I also believe how Teela's new look is perceived is dependent on the artist. When Pop Mhan draws her, she's more vanilla or less sexualized than when Ed Benes draws her. Ed Benes is famous (or infamous) for his sexy women.

Strangely enough, She-Ra retains her original look. No New 52 outfit there. I wonder why? You can change He-Man and the other vintage characters, but not She-Ra?

How has it changed her character though? I don't find that to be true myself. Teela might be said to be overdoing the 'fiesty redhead', but she hasn't been shown to be sexualised in the comic. She did strip down to her underwear in one sequence, but I don't get the impression she's being sexualised there. It's just a weird sequence to me, there's no real shots that objectify her body there. The only place I see that is the cover to the DC/MOTU crossover. To me Teela has largely been herself and sexuality hasn't been touch upon with her character. I don't think there's anywhere near enough proof to claim to know what DC's and the artists intentions clearly are. It's a fantasy/sci-fi setting where something like that isn't necessarily innappropriate. I'm not saying it flat out isn't the case. I could be wrong, but I don't think we should just jump to conclusions.

Also we generally speaking all have female friends. I wouldn't begin guessing what all of them would react to seeing the comics. I don't think your friends should be held up as the gold standard for women as though that's what we all should be thinking. I mean if Wonder Woman can wear less and be applauded for it then I don't think Teela's outfit is the end of the world either.

Maybe I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law what their intentions were. But He-man, who is a million times stronger than Teela, had to put on armor to go into battle. Teela actually took off clothing. If you discard a 30 year old character's iconic look and dress her in stripper gear before going into some apparently dangerous battle where everyone else is armoring up, and then you throw that on the cover of your comic, front and almost center as a selling point for your comic, that is sexualizing her in my estimation. That is using sex to help sell the comic. I don't need to find the artist's diary and see him put it in writing to know.

It is against her character, in my opinion, because the Teela I grew up with would not allow any man to sexualize her in that way. Now I know this is a meta take on it and that no man in the comic made her dress this way, it was the artists making it, but it's a distinction without a difference.

And I'm not holding up my friends as the gold standard for all female opinion. But they are a part of the non-comic reading mainstream American audience that pays to see movies based off of these properties, and that have sons who buy these kinds of toys. And yes, there are women who like this type of thing. There are even women who might get that picture of Teela tattoed on their thigh or hang the poster on their wall. But there are a lot of women like my friends who will automatically discount MOTU as a juvenile and sexist based off of one image like that. And it doesn't make sense to alienate a significant portion of your potential audience for something cheap and tawdry. If it were crucial to the story, maybe it's worth sticking your neck out for. But this doesn't add anything of value to the property.

And if she's not dressed that way in the rest of the comic, it makes it even more obvious that she is being sexualized to sell comics because they put that 'different' picture of her on the front. Why else would they change her look for the cover?

And these are my opinions (and not just mine) and I don't need to see everything spelled out to know what's going on.

Maybe I can't prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law what their intentions were. But He-man, who is a million times stronger than Teela, had to put on armor to go into battle. Teela actually took off clothing. If you discard a 30 year old character's iconic look and dress her in stripper gear before going into some apparently dangerous battle where everyone else is armoring up, and then you throw that on the cover of your comic, front and almost center as a selling point for your comic, that is sexualizing her in my estimation. That is using sex to help sell the comic. I don't need to find the artist's diary and see him put it in writing to know.

It is against her character, in my opinion, because the Teela I grew up with would not allow any man to sexualize her in that way. Now I know this is a meta take on it and that no man in the comic made her dress this way, it was the artists making it, but it's a distinction without a difference.

And I'm not holding up my friends as the gold standard for all female opinion. But they are a part of the non-comic reading mainstream American audience that pays to see movies based off of these properties, and that have sons who buy these kinds of toys. And yes, there are women who like this type of thing. There are even women who might get that picture of Teela tattoed on their thigh or hang the poster on their wall. But there are a lot of women like my friends who will automatically discount MOTU as a juvenile and sexist based off of one image like that. And it doesn't make sense to alienate a significant portion of your potential audience for something cheap and tawdry. If it were crucial to the story, maybe it's worth sticking your neck out for. But this doesn't add anything of value to the property.

And if she's not dressed that way in the rest of the comic, it makes it even more obvious that she is being sexualized to sell comics because they put that 'different' picture of her on the front. Why else would they change her look for the cover?

And these are my opinions (and not just mine) and I don't need to see everything spelled out to know what's going on.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the New 52 targeted toward the teen demographic? Those are the types the new designs might be appealing to, not the current guard of comic readers who are approaching their forties.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the New 52 targeted toward the teen demographic? Those are the types the new designs might be appealing to, not the current guard of comic readers who are approaching their forties.

I believe that they are targeting the whole thing (including MotU-jammed-into-the-DCU-and-what-the-heck) at whoever they can sell it to - any demographic with sufficient spending power.

It looks like DC really have an urgent need to up the level of sales - and that may explain a lot of what is going on. There are very real problems at DC - so I am told.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the New 52 targeted toward the teen demographic? Those are the types the new designs might be appealing to, not the current guard of comic readers who are approaching their forties.

I don't read DC comics, so I can't say. But I don't think Mattel should let DC dictate this type of thing.

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Originally Posted by Scriptor

I believe that they are targeting the whole thing (including MotU-jammed-into-the-DCU-and-what-the-heck) at whoever they can sell it to - any demographic with sufficient spending power.

I spoke last night with an old college chum of mine; he's a very highly-elevated investment banker in NYC now - and something of a secret MotU fan; a bit of a Master of the Universe in both senses, perhaps. His specialism is the media - and he's been in that field for twenty years.
We were speaking mostly of other things - but it cropped up about the recent DC MotU comics - and he told me that the financial situation at DC is parlous; they barely break even on current trade, have substantial debt and are struggling to service it and the new team have been given VERY sales high targets to meet, while shedding costs at the same time. Also an industry-leading record of management/artist turnover haunts recruitment of talent to DC.

This info. may explain a lot; the sudden shifts in direction at very frequent intervals and lack of overall continuity; the changes in writers/artists/concept/'look' - and all the rest of it. DC appear to be trying every last angle - including lumping MotU in with their other superhero property to maximize readership - which, at present, falls well below their hopes/targets (and, personally, I can see why, too...)

So I put it to him that the sheer speed of the galloping changes might have something to do with Mattel wanting to get some market research feedback from among fans and others for the look/concept of the new film - a point made on this forum which I thought perceptive.
His response? A rather nasty laugh: "Oh, so you still think it'll happen, do you...?"

Now, I hasten to add that this is only what he told me; nor do I know how accurate his information is - though he really should know, and it all sounds plausible enough to me. And it does seem to explain a great deal about why DC appear to be handling matters so hurriedly and - to many - ineptly.

In the end - it's all about sales (as ever.) But I do wonder whether they (and Mattel) might have done better to sit down and think about this longer-term - and perhaps take some soundings from fans before charging incontinently into the breach. The new crossover will surely increase immediate sales - for obvious reasons; but, when the uncommitted and ephemeral pass on to other things (as they do/will) can they rely on the core of committed fans to be there in the numbers to make this work?

Reaction - as expressed on this forum - is certainly very mixed. Time will tell; but I hope that we are not witnessing the last rites of MotU comics for yet another fallow decade being over-hastily administered.

"Culture shock lives!" crows Giffen. Hmm. Maybe it also kills.

I can tell you that Mattel thinks more short term than long term. You can see it in how they've handled qc and customer satisfaction with MOTU.

ug I hope this change isn't permanent... its just like when the cartoon suddenly decided to armor him up. He looked stupid...

He gets thrown all over the place. through walls and everything and suddenly he needs armor...

Is now regretting the subscription I bought to this... I haven't even got an issue yet.

You are so right; it's absurd. If he has access to the Power then he's sufficiently resilient, strong, swift and skilled in battle that, while he can indeed be thrown through walls and drop off high buildings (!) then he'll be fine - with or without armour. As always before.

So - what's the point of this new outfit?

Ah; well - that will be to do with DC shoving him into the DCU whether He-Man or his loyal adherents want it or not, in order to try to increase sales - now that they have made such a hash of their attempt at two series of MotU - and failed to get anywhere near their sales targets.

So - now it's He-Man vs Superman (etc. etc. - yawn..) in a desperate bid to get anyone to take notice and stave off their creditors. Just great for MotU; now nothing more than fodder for the "who-would-win" types. Buy shares in breakfast cereal manufacturers asap, that's my advice - you'll make a stash. All the excitement is sure to make them hungry for six big bowls a day and their moms will be hurrying to buy in for them, since they themselves can't actually leave the house.

Comic Book Resources: DC Comics recently revealed a new look for He-Man, and from the promo art, it appears that that look carries over into the crossover --

Giffen: That's his look now. Mattel gave me the marching orders on that and that's the look he'll have because that's the look they want. When you see an obvious change to the Masters of the Universe mythos, it ain't coming from me. It's coming from the source.

So if we are to believe Giffen, the new look isn't part of a DC mandated 52 redesign, it's actually at Mattel's direction. That's even worse news to me - that Mattel is behind this look. Giffen also says about the storylines:

Giffen: They're looking to shake up their universe. They're not just nostalgia merchants. They want new stories and they want things to happen that have consequence. They are aware that the toys were really popular in the 1980s but it ain't that time anymore. This is a whole new audience and it's been fun to be involved because of that.

I'm not against consequences or having some new stuff going on. I think I'm ok, more-or-less, with Despara. But that just isn't He-man. You can change things all you want, but change it too much and you lose your audience. See NA He-man. Who is this new MOTU audience Giffen is talking about? How many people are discovering He-man for the first time now? I can't speak to any first-hand knowledge, but I can't believe anyone other than our own kids are newly picking up He-man. And they're picking up the classics figures, based on classic designs.

Just put the costumes back.... the initial draw to MOTU was, for me, the character designs. Before I ever saw a cartoon or knew who anyone was, I loved the character designs. They just looked cool. This He-man and Teela are awful. Thanks Mattel.

We'll see. Maybe Mattel can pull it off. Maybe they can have their own Bayformers universe going and maybe they'll make hundreds of millions doing it.

We'll see. Maybe Mattel can pull it off. Maybe they can have their own Bayformers universe going and maybe they'll make hundreds of millions doing it.

I have incredibly little faith in Mattel being able to pull off anything even vaguely similar to the success of Bayformers. Let me point out that the wildly detailed/insane designs of the Bayformers have been toned down quite a bit for each of the TF lines. The more "alien" faces, the chicken legs, the "blender full of knives" look is mostly a thing of the past ... at least until the next Bay movie appears

I've got to say that I find the new He-Man design to be hideous. It's overly complicated and somehow even more absurd that a half-naked man in furry underwear. Those giant iron crosses sticking off the legs? What the Horde is that all about? And all of the oranges and reds, slamming into one another. Big frowny face from me and I'll be disappointed if Scott forces this new costume into the MOTUC subscriptions.

Comic Book Resources: DC Comics recently revealed a new look for He-Man, and from the promo art, it appears that that look carries over into the crossover --

Giffen: That's his look now. Mattel gave me the marching orders on that and that's the look he'll have because that's the look they want. When you see an obvious change to the Masters of the Universe mythos, it ain't coming from me. It's coming from the source.

So if we are to believe Giffen, the new look isn't part of a DC mandated 52 redesign, it's actually at Mattel's direction. That's even worse news to me - that Mattel is behind this look. Giffen also says about the storylines:

Giffen: They're looking to shake up their universe. They're not just nostalgia merchants. They want new stories and they want things to happen that have consequence. They are aware that the toys were really popular in the 1980s but it ain't that time anymore. This is a whole new audience and it's been fun to be involved because of that.

I'm not against consequences or having some new stuff going on. I think I'm ok, more-or-less, with Despara. But that just isn't He-man. You can change things all you want, but change it too much and you lose your audience. See NA He-man. Who is this new MOTU audience Giffen is talking about? How many people are discovering He-man for the first time now? I can't speak to any first-hand knowledge, but I can't believe anyone other than our own kids are newly picking up He-man. And they're picking up the classics figures, based on classic designs.

Just put the costumes back.... the initial draw to MOTU was, for me, the character designs. Before I ever saw a cartoon or knew who anyone was, I loved the character designs. They just looked cool. This He-man and Teela are awful. Thanks Mattel.

We'll see. Maybe Mattel can pull it off. Maybe they can have their own Bayformers universe going and maybe they'll make hundreds of millions doing it.

I couldn't agree more; it's clearly absurd to assume that these shifts in tone and costume are going to create a whole new generation of MotU fans; it's not going to happen.
Too many hasty and silly changes hack off your supporters while winning no new ones. Bad for business. There must be better ways of reaching out than this.

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Originally Posted by guardianmonkey

I have incredibly little faith in Mattel being able to pull off anything even vaguely similar to the success of Bayformers. Let me point out that the wildly detailed/insane designs of the Bayformers have been toned down quite a bit for each of the TF lines. The more "alien" faces, the chicken legs, the "blender full of knives" look is mostly a thing of the past ... at least until the next Bay movie appears

I've got to say that I find the new He-Man design to be hideous. It's overly complicated and somehow even more absurd that a half-naked man in furry underwear. Those giant iron crosses sticking off the legs? What the Horde is that all about? And all of the oranges and reds, slamming into one another. Big frowny face from me and I'll be disappointed if Scott forces this new costume into the MOTUC subscriptions.

And so will a lot of other people. The comics et al may just be some kind of crazy experiment to test the waters; if so, then it's time to call a halt.

Giffen's interpretation of what Mattel are up to (and it is only that; an interpretation) may be way off the mark. Given how poor his ability to read and write MotU has proved, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Let's hope that Mattel will read the writing on the wall(s) and stage a strategic withdrawal from a dead-end canyon.

Bayformers still stuck to the mostly what Transformers is. Alien robots who change into vehicles of some kind with a clear good and bad guy side with the bad guys being more military themed and the good guys being more civilian themed. For the most part they stuck with the same vehicle modes for characters and kept their theme colors. Their alt modes were different, and there was more focus on human characters most likely for budget reasons. There were story telling problems, but more or less the characters were still who they were.

This new He-man costume looks almost nothing like any previous version. Teela has gone from being a fiery red head to a petulant teen who lacks respect. The Marvel G.I. Joe comic was darker than the cartoon with more death and stuff but was still highly respected because it was trying to tell a story not pander to what a group of grey haired suited out of touch men think teens want. Of course this has almost always been a problem look at most licensed based video games the reason they have and typically do suck is because of the suits wanting them to in 1/4 the time make the game like Grand Theft Auto, or Guitar Hero, or Call of Duty or whatever is popular atm despite it's lack of relevance to the subject.

And not sure how much Giffin is to blame, DC lots quite a few creators recently some who were about to start new books because of last minute micromanaging on titles. When you are told to resubmit and your deadline isn't changed it does effect the quality of what you are putting out. Worse is when they only ask you to change parts and it loses flow and cohesiveness.

One Gum Drop to rule them all, One Gum Drop to find them,
One Gum Drop to bring them all and in the sweetness bind them
In the Land of Candy where the Gingerbreads lie.
-Tag line for the Candy Land Movie Adaptation

ug I hope this change isn't permanent... its just like when the cartoon suddenly decided to armor him up. He looked stupid...

He gets thrown all over the place. through walls and everything and suddenly he needs armor...

Is now regretting the subscription I bought to this... I haven't even got an issue yet.

Originally Posted by Scriptor

You are so right; it's absurd. If he has access to the Power then he's sufficiently resilient, strong, swift and skilled in battle that, while he can indeed be thrown through walls and drop off high buildings (!) then he'll be fine - with or without armour. As always before.

So - what's the point of this new outfit?

He-Man's had Battle Armor and alternate looks before (namely New Adventures), so this is nothing new. However, those were either power-ups (Battle Armor, Flying Fists, Thunder Punch, Snake Armor) or environmental costumes (such as Ice Armor He-Man); He-Man still had his default costume, but those new costumes were temporary.

But I'd personally draw the line at an outright costume change. It's like Mario ditching his red overalls for his raccoon costume. I'm fine with the new costume being some kind of power-up, but never as his default look.

I have zero problem with this being He-Man's costume by default in the new comic. If I want Barbarian He-man, I still have my mini-comics. Filmation and MYP kept the original look with small changes and that's cool too. But I definitely think losing SOME of the barbarian helps reconcile He-Man with his prince adam persona. Why would a Prince transform into a Barbarian? I don't think it makes much sense to new, younger readers.

When Thor, transforms he has pants.

When Shazam transforms, he has pants.

Even the Hulk still has pants and he triples his size...

A royal prince transforms, he's in a loin cloth?

I've said it before, I PREFER the barbarian he-man from the comic, but if you're going to keep the prince adam stuff, it make sense to give him a better mix of armor, fantasy, and tech.

I have zero problem with this being He-Man's costume by default in the new comic. If I want Barbarian He-man, I still have my mini-comics. Filmation and MYP kept the original look with small changes and that's cool too. But I definitely think losing SOME of the barbarian helps reconcile He-Man with his prince adam persona. Why would a Prince transform into a Barbarian? I don't think it makes much sense to new, younger readers.

When Thor, transforms he has pants.

When Shazam transforms, he has pants.

Even the Hulk still has pants and he triples his size...

A royal prince transforms, he's in a loin cloth?

I've said it before, I PREFER the barbarian he-man from the comic, but if you're going to keep the prince adam stuff, it make sense to give him a better mix of armor, fantasy, and tech.

I guess I can go back to the older material for the MOTU I remember. But I guess I'm sad because I'd hoped for the characters and universe I'd known as a kid to come back and pick up where it left off, updating themes and making things more adult, but being the same at the heart of things. We didn't get full stories back then, and now that things are no longer episodic, it's just crap that isn't MOTU to me. So sure I can go back to the old stuff, but I wanted something new and good and I think I no longer have hope that this will happen. Not with TG at the helm (not that I blame him for all of this, but I believe we need someone with a different vision in his position to fight for something good).

To me, this is all just junk. MOTUC is good because of the 4H - the rest of everthing that has come at Mattel's directives I can pretty much leave behind. I know that's pretty cynical, but I just don't agree with Mattel's (lack of) vision for the property.

Also, while in the real world it might make more sense for He-man to have pants and armor when transforming from Adam, He-man just doesn't wear pants and armor. MOTU has nothing to do with logic or reason. If you start enforcing the rules of reason and logic on MOTU you won't have MOTU anymore. I don't think you'd have anything at all.

I have zero problem with this being He-Man's costume by default in the new comic. If I want Barbarian He-man, I still have my mini-comics. Filmation and MYP kept the original look with small changes and that's cool too. But I definitely think losing SOME of the barbarian helps reconcile He-Man with his prince adam persona. Why would a Prince transform into a Barbarian? I don't think it makes much sense to new, younger readers.

When Thor, transforms he has pants.

When Shazam transforms, he has pants.

Even the Hulk still has pants and he triples his size...

A royal prince transforms, he's in a loin cloth?

I've said it before, I PREFER the barbarian he-man from the comic, but if you're going to keep the prince adam stuff, it make sense to give him a better mix of armor, fantasy, and tech.

Why are people in general (not you, hopewell) so skittish about guys who aren't wearing pants? He's a barbarian...

A doctor transforms into a norse god.
A child transforms into an adult superhero.
A scientist transforms into a monster (who loses his shirt and shoes).
A prince transforms into a barbarian.

Another thing to consider is that He-Man was created before the prince secret identity was added to him a year later. The Adam idea proved popular, so it stuck.

That design changes from Mattel keep me away from reading this book. DC can't make an interesting comic, Mattel has no idea what to do with MOTU. We have 3 Transformers movies and 2 G.I.Joe movies and Mattel has no clue, how to handle their own franchise...

That design changes from Mattel keep me away from reading this book. DC can't make an interesting comic, Mattel has no idea what to do with MOTU. We have 3 Transformers movies and 2 G.I.Joe movies and Mattel has no clue, how to handle their own franchise...

The problem is they are letting those properties dictate how they handle He-man. It's the Superman vs Batman problem that often shows up. They are not the same character, yet one is more popular than they other (not always the same one). When you start writing the lesser popular one like the more popular one people get angry and you start hearing from silent fans who have bought the product but not said anything because most people who are satisfied don't speak up.

But even those franchises have their problems, just most people looked past them. I do wonder where they get the idea that a man in a loincloth won't do well. Sure the recent Conan movie could have done better but there was a lot more going wrong there.

One Gum Drop to rule them all, One Gum Drop to find them,
One Gum Drop to bring them all and in the sweetness bind them
In the Land of Candy where the Gingerbreads lie.
-Tag line for the Candy Land Movie Adaptation

He-Man's had Battle Armor and alternate looks before (namely New Adventures), so this is nothing new. However, those were either power-ups (Battle Armor, Flying Fists, Thunder Punch, Snake Armor) or environmental costumes (such as Ice Armor He-Man); He-Man still had his default costume, but those new costumes were temporary.

But I'd personally draw the line at an outright costume change. It's like Mario ditching his red overalls for his raccoon costume. I'm fine with the new costume being some kind of power-up, but never as his default look.

Yes; agree with that. Changes of costume are fine; but the default must be recognizably the iconic look of He-Man. IronManCosplay pseudo-He-Man rig is now the default - so we are told.
It's pants (literally) and I really cannot see it catching on at all.

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Originally Posted by Berserker79

That design changes from Mattel keep me away from reading this book. DC can't make an interesting comic, Mattel has no idea what to do with MOTU. We have 3 Transformers movies and 2 G.I.Joe movies and Mattel has no clue, how to handle their own franchise...

I'm really enjoying this time of the brand, I think Mattel is doing a good job,brand is in continuing expansively and growth, of course little by little ,even need a movie or series to exploit market but that depends not only on Mattel.

I love to talk about current things (ongoing comic book series,videogames ,other licenses and MOTUC) and appreciate that, sorry some don't enjoy that, I'm having fun.

About new comics, I love what they generate .I see a lot of debate, Reviews posted diverse and contrary, good and bad reviews and I like that ,means the brand is alive.

That design changes from Mattel keep me away from reading this book. DC can't make an interesting comic, Mattel has no idea what to do with MOTU. We have 3 Transformers movies and 2 G.I.Joe movies and Mattel has no clue, how to handle their own franchise...

I agree with you 100%.

Mattel caught lightening in a bottle back in the 80's. They lucked into He-man - they had hired some good creators, and Lou Scheimer and company took it to another level. I liken Mattel's success with the line to Jar Jar Binks holding off the droid army in Phatom Menance.

My dream scenario would be an announcement that we'd be getting a new animated series based on the minicomics. A barbarian is given special powers to defend castle grayskull from the demon Skeletor. I'd love that continuity. Kind of like the old Visionaries toyline and cartoon where heroes and villains used magic and ancient technology to fight.

My second dream scenario would be a film trilogy covering King Grayskull then prince adam turning into He-Man. I wouldn't even have Adam become He-Man until the end of the second movie which would lead into the third ultimate battleground film.

I wish we could follow the Barbarian He-Man and Prince Adam storylines in separate stories.

That design changes from Mattel keep me away from reading this book. DC can't make an interesting comic, Mattel has no idea what to do with MOTU. We have 3 Transformers movies and 2 G.I.Joe movies and Mattel has no clue, how to handle their own franchise...

Hasbro always makes design changes to their characters, especially Transformers. And there is something new on the way after TF Prime, which means yet another change.

If you look at it, even Hasbro's cinematic choices have been questionable. New 52 MOTU is akin to Bayformers or the movie G.I. Joes -- the company tried a different aspect to their 80's property and a lot of fans hated it. Giffen Teela is the MOTU version of Skids and Mudflap at their most offensive. The thing that makes Hasbro get by is that it's hard to argue with the results that successful movie franchises bring.

At least Mattel didn't dump Classics for the New 52 stuff. It's funny, but fans might REALLY want more mini-comics from TG, rather than Keith Giffen.

That's part of why I like DC's MOTU. Hasbro shook things up with Transformers and it has worked. Sure it may have alienated long-term fans, but I'm sure it brought new ones. Right now there are two different continuities going on in the TF comic books (3 if you count the Transformers Prime comic) and I think both stories are quite enjoyable.

IMHO, Mattel needed to shake up the MOTU franchise to make it feel relevant again and try to appeal to a new generation of fans. I know I am in the minority here but I am enjoying DC's take on it. Sure Teela can be toned down a bit, but in all honesty she doesn't really bother me. I get to see a Horde invasion of Eternia, the banter between Adam and Teela, the bond between Adam and Randor, Skeletor's wickedness, She-Ra in a main MOTU comic, how the story continues after secrets are revealed (He-Man's secret identity, Skeletor and He-Man being related) and in general a darker version of a world of sword and sorcery torn apart by war. I fully expect that when the movie comes out there will be other changes. It will be interesting to see what long-time fans think about those.

I also think Giffen in doing fine as a writer. Sure, I'd prefer it if Geoff Johns would write the book (look what he has done for Green Lantern over the past 10 years), but he is pretty busy right now. I know I tend to be optimistic on these things but as the comic continues I think we'll get more insight into the world of DC's Eternia and its inhabitants. After all, we get an origin story of Hordak the demigod next week.